Talented Verity Milligan’s amazing images of Brum attracted national attention and have made her into a much-in-demand photographer
We travel into it every day, we walk around it, we even eat and sleep in it… but how many of us actually take notice of how beautiful this great city of ours is? Life’s too hectic, time’s too short to stand, stare and admire. But not for talented local photographer Verity Milligan. As her reveal, Verity sees that which we don’t, and she’s in no doubt that Birmingham and its surroundings are breath-taking especially when viewed through the lens of her camera.
Brilliantly creative and simply stunning, her images of the city architecture and landscapes have not just attracted local attention and acclaim. Two years ago a national newspaper spotted Verity’s work and ran an article about ‘the photographer who is changing the perception of Birmingham’. Verity says: “From that moment on the whole thing has gone crazy. The Daily Mail article talked about how my pictures showed the changing face of Birmingham, and as a result I had so many people contact me wanting me to do work and commissions for them – not just locally but across the country.”
IT JUST CLICKED
What’s all the more amazing is that Verity didn’t pick up a camera until she was 25. The Leicester University student had always been artistic growing up but had her mind set on being a painter. “But I struggled with paint,” she says. “When I picked up a camera and started clicking away I realised that just like paint it allowed me to show the world as I wanted. I’ve not looked back since.”
Living with her partner in Acocks Green, Verity has many strands to her photography career. She divides her time between working on commissions, shooting on her own time and selling prints of her amazing landscapes of Birmingham and Britain as a whole, producing calendars, lecturing on photography and film-making at Leicester University and even still keeping her hand in on the occasional wedding.
“They are all different pieces of the puzzle to make photography a commercial success,” she says. Verity is also looking to move into fashion photography – “but fashion in the landscape”. She adds: “This could be urban landscape or up a hill somewhere. One thing I am not is a studio photographer. For me it is all about being outdoors somewhere.”
Social media plays a big role in getting Verity’s talent out there. Her website is packed with gorgeous pictures she has taken in Birmingham and elsewhere. Her Brum portfolio includes stunning views of the canals, Lickey Hill at sunrise, the Jewellery Quarter, misty Fox Hollies Park and spectacular mono and colour images of the commercial centre at day and night.
DREAM SHOOT
If you prefer to widen you horizon, Verity has also shot around the country, including in the Lake District, the Peak District, the West Country and Isle of Skye. Her ultimate dream shoot would be to follow in the footsteps of famous American photographer, the late Ansel Adams whose remarkable black and white landscapes of the US West, such as Yosemite National Park, have been widely reproduced in books and on posters and calendars. “That would be amazing to go and shoot all the major national parks in the US and Canada. The scenery is breathtaking,” she says.
As you can tell, Verity loves everything to do with photography. “Some people relax by sitting and watching a good film or TV but I relax by doing some picture or film editing,” she says. “I never sit down, I’m always on the go.”
Currently, this talented camera lady – whose past commissions include work for Visit Engalnd, Visit Britain and picturing the hills and dales for a Yorkshire Tea campaign – is collaborating with Marketing Birmingham and their projects for 2017. Verity is also working on a couple of other exciting Birmingham-based ideas, but she says: “I can’t talk about those just yet!” We can’t wait to see what she’s got in store…